ECA

The Emil Carlsen Archives (ECA) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of Danish-American Impressionist/Realist painter Emil Carlsen [1848-1932].  The archive contains the world’s largest visual record of the artist’s work, featuring more than 1,000 documented examples.  ECA arranges and cross references: original information, never-before-made-public documents and images, newspaper mentions, book citations, exhibition catalogs, auction records, past and present representing galleries, collectors lists, museum holdings, member organizations, original essays, photos, timeline, and past students lists to create a single interactive and interlinked resource on the artist.

The archives exist exclusively on the world wide web and do not house a traditional, physical collection.  The ECA is a part of a new generation of the rapidly expanding segment of archives referred to as an Integrating Resource.  In library and archive terms, an Integrating Resource is a bibliographic resource that is added to or changed by means of updates, such as a website.  Information is gathered and reproduced from the world wide web and meaningfully arranged to promote scholarship and research on the artist and his art works.

The core of the archive’s information aggregates at the fine art work level.  Each listing presents, when available, a large web-sized color image, pictures of the work’s verso, signature close up, work title, dimensions (framed and unframed), medium, signature information, cross referenced with the Archives of American Art (AAA) control number, AAA’s subject headings, provenance information, name title history, exhibition history, linked exhibition catalogs, work references, additional notes including quotes about the work, internal archive research comments, historic pricing information and digital document information.

ECA works on a regular, and usually daily basis, to add, maintain and update information on this site since 2013 and offline since 2006.  Original documents are supplied by partnering universities, private and public museums, the Smithsonian Archives, auction sites, databases, private auction houses, private art galleries, and the kind help of the general public.

History

ECA was founded by Bill Indursky offline in 2006 after discovering the artist in a painting workshop in New York City.  When researching Emil Carlsen, he found that there were no books-in-print on the artist.  This inspired him to write his own book, which he worked on over the next several years, gathering information.  After various set backs and delays in the book’s publication and mounting interest in his research, the project was moved online in 2013.  The information was made free and open to artists, researchers and the general the public on the world wide web.

Since the founding, the scope and nature of the organization has grown and developed.  Now the organization is a not-for-profit and in 2016 has begun efforts to properly document all its holdings according to library & archivist standards.

In fall, 2016, a new online library is planned to make the archive’s library book holdings on painting and design available to approved researchers online.  The library holdings will be carefully regulated as legal challenges to the digitization of books is still new and changing.

Appraisals & Representations

ECA does not appraise artworks and does NOT hold any legally binding appraisal credentials.  Therefore, if anyone from the organization offers a “best guess opinion” about an art work, the organization and it’s agents can not be held responsible for their personal opinion.

ECA accepts no legal responsibility for any commercial implications for the information contained within the archive.  The archive was established solely for study and research purposes and has never been intended to have any commercial implications unintended or otherwise.

Image Rights & Fair Use

The ECA’s collections are obtained from many sources and are intended primarily for research and educational purposes. Certain works may be protected by copyright, trademark, or related interests not governed by the Emil Carlsen Archives. Permission will be granted only to the extent of our ownership of the rights relating to your particular interest. The responsibility for ascertaining whether any additional rights exist, and for obtaining all necessary permissions, remains with the researcher.

Donations

ECA accepts donations of original documents, catalogs, images and any other information on or related to the artist Emil Carlsen.  The Archives does not purchase or sell any materials.

Provenance Research, Errors & Removals

The Archives actively seeks to build the complete provenance of each work of art displayed with in it.  If you own, have owned or have sold any of the works listed we would appreciate hearing from you.

If you found an error in our research, please reach out and let us know and we are happy to correct it.

If your name is listed within our provenance records and you prefer to remain anonymous, please contact us and we will restrict the display of your name.

Circa Date Errors & Disagreements

Our system requires each work to have a creation  date listed.  As information is discovered about a work the circa creation date is updated.  If you believe one of our dates to be inaccurate, we encourage you to contact us with the correct date and support information.  As our resource grows we are reviewing each record’s date and updating them with the reasons for each circa choice.

Previous Versions of Pages

The archives are constantly changing and updating.  To review a page that was previously posted please consult http://archive.org for earlier copies of the site.

Hours

The archive is available online 24 hours/day.  There is no physical access granted to our offices without prior permission.  To request access contact: bill.indursky@emilcarlsen.org 

Contact Us

Bill Indursky, Archive Director
bill.indursky@emilcarlsen.org

Mailing Address (Virtual Office):

Emil Carlsen Archives
266 West 21st Street
Suite 4E
New York, NY  10011